Aerating and seeding the lawn? (rental, how much, Home Depot)

[joe moving]

Well the economy is collapsing and I'm not sure i'm that concerned about the lawn but my wife says NOW is the time (of the year).

Taylor Rental rents the machine that will take out the cores for like $80 for the day. To get it here we'd have to rent a trailer, call it $100 for the day.

I don't really know anything about this whole process, we do not have lawn guys like many people in our area, and furthermore we do not use any pesticides or any chemicals yada yada. Say no to synthetic N-P-K. We called a few places who say they only do this service for their regular clients...

Anyone have this done and what do they charge (if you are not a regular client...)? Does it really help?

And how will this compare to just doing it manually with one of those hand held deals that doesn't take out cores, but just pokes holes in the grass.

[MoorestownResident]

Now is the time of year. My recommendation is get some quotes from local landscapers, probably not DIY if you don't know what you are doing. Depends how big your property is but it might cost $600+ to get it done properly with quality seed. Make sure they use a turf-type high quality seed, if not, you are throwing your money away. The newer varieties have better color, durability and heat resistance. After that you need to water it twice a day for about 2 weeks. Then once a day for another couple weeks. Unless it rains of course and it usually does in the Fall. If you can't commit to that for whatever reason don't do anything. Don't wait any longer. If it gets too cold out, the seeds won't germinate. You have 4-6 more weeks of suitable weather to get a lawn established.

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by joe moving

Well the economy is collapsing and I'm not sure i'm that concerned about the lawn but my wife says NOW is the time (of the year).

Now or the spring. I had really good luck in the spring.

Originally Posted by joe moving

We called a few places who say they only do this service for their regular clients...

Anyone have this done and what do they charge (if you are not a regular client...)? Does it really help?

We have an estimate from TruGreen for seeding & aeration for about $185 with tax according to my hubby.

You can always call a few of these companies to see how much they charge to weed & feed the front and maybe the sides, then let them do it. They will also ask if you're interested in the aeration & seed, then you can say yes and cancel after having it done.

I'm not sure if we are happy with the company, I just made a post this morning to get input from others using a service. We are going to do the aeration & seed, so we'll see if that makes a difference.

Reading our application letter, the amount for 7 applications was $334.43, if you prepay it, you get 5% off - which amounts to $16.45. There is no contract to sign but if you do not want them to come out any more it says you do need to notify them.

What type of lawn do you have? Do you have sod or natural grass?

[joe moving]

I have no clue what kind of grass it is haha

I'll tell you what, I rented an aerator aerater, whatever, a BlueBird grass thing, and that thing is VERY difficult to maneuver ,especially on our lot which is on a grade.

It cost us $85 to rent a trailer and the machine. $20 for a used spreader. We didn't buy seed yet. I'll look for this turf type stuff.

Tomorrow seed and then water. I hope that it will be worth the effort.

This is my wife's project so I am just taking orders for the most part

[RobRiguez]

I did it the HHAARRDD way this summer. Dug up my side yard (60x10) with a pick and spade to get rid of a hedgerow (I think its called a maddock?), tilled the dirt, smoothed the grade, and re-seeded from scratch. Took 2 months of weekends in HOT weather and 2 months of dedicated watering and feeding and the side yard is GORGEOUS!!!!!!! Im going to do the front yard next spring summer. Once thats done I'll probably sign up for some program to keep it loverly. BUT im dreading the front (40x60) I did save almost 4k by doing the sides myself so, at least I got that going for me.

Good luck!

[MoorestownResident]

Originally Posted by joe moving

I have no clue what kind of grass it is haha

I'll tell you what, I rented an aerator aerater, whatever, a BlueBird grass thing, and that thing is VERY difficult to maneuver ,especially on our lot which is on a grade.

It cost us $85 to rent a trailer and the machine. $20 for a used spreader. We didn't buy seed yet. I'll look for this turf type stuff.

Tomorrow seed and then water. I hope that it will be worth the effort.

This is my wife's project so I am just taking orders for the most part

Make sure when you apply the seed it has strong contact with dirt, step on it after you put it down. You can use Scotts Pure Premium seed at Lowes or Home Depot. It costs more but is worth it. The seed is supposed to stay moist 24/7, if it doesn't rain you'll need to water a least once a day for several weeks.

[Gessa]

Alan Titchsmarsh is a really famous tv gardner in England and has done a programme - very watchable on lawns - you can download it. I know you should put down sand to once areated in order to improve drainage-